Dec. 10, 2008

Contact: Ryan Mulford

Setting the Scene: The Vikings will host the annual CSU Open on Sunday, December 14 in the Woodling Gymnasium. The tournament is set to begin at 9 a.m. and run throughout the day.

Recapping Last Week: The Vikings traveled to State College, Pa to compete in the prestigious Nittany Lion Open. Senior Rashard Goff posted a 4-1 record on his way to capturing a second place trophy while sophomore Rob Michaels compiled a 6-2 record to earn a sixth place finish. Goff opened the tournament with a close 2-1 decision over Boston University's James Connors, before going on to beat Penn's Tyler Blakely by a score of 2-0. Goff then went on to win his next two matches, with victories coming against Patrick Walker of Liberty, 4-0 and Kocher of SCWC by a 7-3 decision, putting him in the finals against John Laboranti of Penn State. Laboranti edged out Goff with a narrow 5-2 decision. Michaels who came back off an early season injury compiled six victories with two pins. He started out his day by emphatically defeating a Penn State club wrester by a 17-1 tech fall. His first pin of the day came at 3:26 against an unattached wrestler, then needed only 0:45 to pin Lock Haven's Mark Vuono. Antonio Nicholson and JT Miller also tallied four wins each for the Vikings.

Home Advantage: The Vikings have had tremendous success competing in the CSU Open over the past two seasons, with seven current wrestlers placing. During last season's tournament, five wrestlers placed including a first place performance from Rashard Goff at 285 pounds. Nate Kmetz added a second place finish, while Antonio Nicholson and Alek Hughes both earned fourth place finishes, and Thomas Schwartz nabbed a sixth place finish. In the 2006 CSU Open, Rashard Goff earned a second place title and Rob Michaels fifth place finish. Dan Castillo also collected his first collegiate victory by pinning Dave Gorman of Jamestown Community College.

Goff Adds To His Trophy Case: Rashard Goff added another second place victory at the Nittany Lion Open to his already outstanding season, running his record to 14-2. The senior has already earned a first place crown at the Michigan State Open and a second place trophy at the Eastern Michigan Open leading up to the CSU Open that he won last season. He has made three straight NCAA tournament appearances and is currently ranked 17th at 285 pounds in the nation by InterMat/NWCA/NWMA as of December 9, 2008.

Michaels Back From Injury: After compiling a 23 win season a year ago, Rob Michaels had been sidelined early on this season due to a nagging leg injury he sustained at the Eastern Michigan Open. He returned at Penn State, winning his first two matches, including a convincing 17-1 tech fall over a Penn State club wrestler. Michaels also added a major, and two pin falls, one of which in just 0:45 over Mark Vuono of Lock Haven.

Carlo Comfortable In Starting Role: A two-time conference and sectional champion at Fairview High School, Corey Carlo has taken command of the 157 pound weight class. Carlo began his collegiate career by winning his first two matches and posting a 3-2 record at the Eastern Michigan Open (11/1). He has added four more victories to his total at the Michigan State Open (11/7) as well as the Nittany Lion Open (12/7), to run his season record to 9-7.

Seniors Leading the Way: Rashard Goff has a team high 14 wins and is tied with Michaels with two pins, while Antonio Nicholson is close behind with 11 victories and one pinfall.

Freshman Not Far Behind: Jordan Keller leads the freshman class with 10 wins while Carlo trails by one with nine victories of his own. The two freshmen have combined for nine of the teams 19 major decision victories this season.

Stehura on the Vikings: "I am very happy with the progression that the team has made so far. The early road trips have given the group a chance to come together and they are excited to wrestle in front of the home fans."

The Head Coach: Ben Stehura (Lock Haven, 2000) Overall: 28-51-1 Former Viking graduate assistant coach Ben Stehura is in his first season as head coach. Stehura is only the third head coach for the Viking wrestling program after serving the last five years as the head coach at Division II Limestone College in Gaffney, S.C. The only head coach in Limestone history, Stehura quickly built the program and has already coached one NCAA National Champion, three NCAA All-Americans, five NCAA National qualifiers and eight NCAA All-Academic team members. A 2000 graduate of Lock Haven University with a Bachelor's of Science in Secondary Education, Stehura was a three-year starter, earning fourth and fifth place finishes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament.

Up Next: The Vikings will return to dual meet action on Friday, December 19, when they travel to Lewisburg, Pa to take on Bucknell. The meet is slated to begin at 12:00 p.m.